A new 'Mario Kart' is about to launch — here's how much better it looks than the last one

With every new Nintendo game console, you can reliably expect several franchises to make an appearance: "Super Mario," "The Legend of Zelda," and "Pokémon," among others.

Prime among those others
is the "Mario Kart" franchise — a beloved series that's existed in various forms since 1992. But this isn't 1992's "Mario Kart" game:

This is "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe," for the Nintendo Switch — it launches on April 28.
Nintendo

The upcoming "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" is a gorgeous, updated re-release of 2014's "Mario Kart 8" for the Wii U. It's got prettier graphics, more tracks to race on, and a brand new "Battle Mode."

It is, in every way, the best version of "Mario Kart" to date.

Yoshi has a posse.
Nintendo

Allow me to enumerate the ways:

There are an absurd number of Nintendo characters to race as — from the classics seen above to bizarre newcomers like King Boo.

There are an equally absurd number of cups to complete (a whopping 12
in total, with four courses each).

The new Battle Mode fixes the one glaring flaw in 2014's "Mario Kart 8" — distinct, Battle Mode-specific courses. There are eight in total in "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe," including four classic maps that have been re-made and four brand new maps.

The online battles just work
. Instead of the usual Nintendo nonsense with online gaming, "Mario Kart 8" (and "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe") seamlessly drops you into matches against players around the world. Want to play against the world and
against a friend? You can go online with two players from a single console. It's the best!

There's one major change coming with the "Deluxe" version of "Mario Kart 8" that is slightly less obvious: It's prettier than ever before.

King Boo cares not for your complaints about the blue shell being overpowered.
Nintendo

But how pretty
is the new game compared with the 2014 version? Thankfully, IGN put together a video comparing as much — check it out below. "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" launches for the Nintendo Switch on April 28, and we'll have a full review ahead of that. Stay tuned!